The assistant clears her throat loudly. Jay shoots me a glare that should set me on fire, except his cheeks are still flushed, and all it does is make me smile more.
“It has reinforced slats, excellent support—ah—you’re welcome to try it.”
Before Jay can say no, I sit down on the edge of the mattress right in front of him and look up, giving him a look of mischief, running my hands up the sides of his thighs until I get to his hips, then I slowly lick my lips. I bounce twice, and his eyes dip to my chest almost involuntarily. “Oh,” I say, bouncing lightly again, watching his nostrils flare. “This is actually pretty comfortable.” I pat the spot beside me. “Come on, husband. We need to make sure it’s big enough for both of us.”
I quirk an eyebrow when he hesitates, so he quickly lowers himself onto the mattress, careful and stiff, like the world’s least relaxed man. I lean back on my palms, grinning at him. “See? Plenty of room. Though I guess we could test the whole rolling-around factor…”
His eyes cloud over with a smolder that makes me a little weak, a dominant side I’ve not seen yet peeking out to say hello. “Liv.” Just my name, but loaded enough with that look to make my stomach dip.
I bite back a laugh and straighten, smoothing my skirt. “Fine, fine. No rolling.” I glance up at the assistant, who looks seconds from spontaneously combusting. “We’ll take it.”
Jay exhales like he’s been holding his breath the entire time.
The assistant nods quickly, scribbling something on her clipboard like she can’t get away fast enough. “Perfect. I’ll ring this up for you and check delivery dates. Since it’s part of our newlywed special, you’ll get 10 percent off the total price. Congratulations again.”
My jaw nearly drops, but I cover it with a saccharine smile. “That’s wonderful. Isn’t it, babe?”
My dearly beloved drags a hand down his face, but when he looks at me, his eyes are dark, unreadable. “Wonderful,” he grits out.
The second the assistant’s out of earshot, I lean close, unable to contain my grin. “See? My antics paid off. You should thank me.”
“You’re going to be the death of me. A little warning wouldn’t have hurt, you know.”
A bubble of laughter escapes me. “Where’s the fun in that? Besides, you wear panic and pink ears really well. Sorry, I’ll warn you next time I ask you to be my husband.”
His mouth twitches, even though his eyes haven’t fully softened yet. “Next time?”
“You never know when you’ll need to play that role again.”
“I’m going to regret this so bad,” he mumbles.
“No one likes a negative Nancy, husband.”
And all I can think is that I don’t remember the last time teasing someone felt safe. Nothing bad happened, no twist in my stomach… it was fun. And I think I’d forgotten that I’m allowed to have fun.
***
“So, do we have any classes together at all?” I ask my best friend just as Rosie grabs a fistful of my ponytail and yanks my scrunchie clean off. “Hey now, missy,” I say, tapping her nose. “That’s my favorite.”
She grins like the queen she is, victorious and proud, and promptly shoves it into her drooling mouth. Lovely.
“I don’t think so,” Daphne says, scrolling through something on her iPad. “All of mine are media communications now. You’re deep in art history land.”
I sigh, slumping dramatically into the couch cushions, as Rosie jackknifes to get down and rushes over to her toys in the corner. “I should’ve moved here sooner. We could’ve at least pretended to listen in math together. Now we don’t even have core classes anymore.”
“But we do have more time together overall, that’s a win for me.”
She’s right, and I love being around her again, and Rosie, too. I glance over to where Rosie is happily gumming my scrunchie. Guess she can keep that one.
“So how was your first night living with Jay?” Daphne asks, trying to sound casual, which only makes it more obvious that she’s fishing for something.
I match her tone with a drop more sarcasm. “We’ve already had sex and gotten past that awkward morning-after phase. Did you know he’s a stud in bed? I guess you wouldn’t, since you picked his best friend, but just so you know, he is.”
“What!?” Daphne shrieks, loud enough that Rosie startles. “Olivia, you cannot be serious.”
I grin, stretching out on the couch. “Of course not. But you should see your face.”
“Don’t do that to me!” She narrows her eyes, but she’s fighting a smile.
